September 26, 2012

Wallpaper’s September issue features family portraits of
some of Italy’s most prominent fashion and furniture dynasties; a good
opportunity to see the faces behind some of our favorite furniture lines.

De Padova

In the fifties, Fernando and Maddalena De Padova began by
importing Scandinavian furniture to sell in their store in Milan, introducing
it to the Italian market. After starting a factory in the sixties to produce
licensed Herman Miller furnishings, the De Padovas graduated to producing their
own pieces, collaborating with some of the tenors of European design (Achille
Castiglioni, Vico Magistretti, Dieter Rams..) as well as acting as a platform
for up and coming designers.

Today, Maddalena has given up the reins of the company to
her son, Luca De Padova (Both are pictured above), who is determined to keep
expanding the company and follow in his mother’s visionary footsteps.

Flos

Flos was founded in the late fifties by Dino Gavina on the
idea of using Arturo Eisenkeil’s ‘cocoon technique’ to create a line of lights.
With the Castiglioni brothers and Tobia Scarpa in tow, Flos became synonymous
with forward thinking designs and the use of beautiful and innovative
manufacturing techniques, a departure from Italy’s interior design landscape of
the time.

In the early sixties, the company was taken over by Sergio
Gandini, a more entrepreneurial minded manager, and started making headlines
around the world. Piero Gandini later succeeded his father and brought in new
designers, including Philippe Starck who has been creative director since the
nineties, setting a new standard of innovation for the company.

Today, Flos boasts a growing stable of some of the world’s
most talented designers and expanding product lines in not only decorative, but
also architectural and in soft architecture (Flos’ most recent venture, at the
cross-section of lighting and architecture).

Kartell

Kartell was founded in 1949 by Giulio Castelli, a chemical
engineer with the endeavor to replace traditional glassware with plastic. With
three pieces in the New York MoMa by the seventies and extensive research on
the properties of plastic during the eighties, Kartell was already a well-established
company by the time it was taken over by Claudio Luti, Castelli’s son-in-law,
in the late 1980’s.

The company hit their stride in the beginning of the 21st
century with the recruitment of some of the world’s most famous design talent;
namely Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Patricia Urquiola… creating some of Kartell’s
most iconic products. Coupled with massive innovation in the technical
department, especially in the way of environmental friendliness, Kartell has
become an international benchmark for plastic furniture and design objects.

Today, Claudio Luti is accompanied by his children, Lorenza
and Federico, in running the family business.

September 11, 2012

With evolving needs in the technology department, the boundaries
between home and office are blurring. Beyond putting a sofa in an office and a
task chair in a home, designers are taking cues from one environment to use in
the other, with very interesting results.

The ambiance in the office has been warming up in the last few
years. Lounge areas have been moving outside of the break room and into the
business side of the workplace.

At Pixar for example, you might sit on the same armchair during a
meeting you sit on by the fire in your living room. (Artek, armchair 400)

Task chairs are also taking on a softer look, closer to that
of a fauteuil. The Softshell and Skape chairs (by Vitra) are good examples of
this trend.

Vitra, Soft Shell chairs

Vitra, Skape chairs

In an effort to create a lighter but no less comfortable
armchair, some designers have been trading in traditional upholstery for
materials more commonly found in an office environment.

Slow Chair by the Bouroullec Brothers for Vitra

Waver, by Konstantin Grcic for Vitra

A new trend of cross-over furniture has also been
developing, smoothing out the seams between office and home life.

The Alcove Highback Work sofa by the Bouroullec brothers for
Vitra includes a table and cubby built right in to the sofa to accommodate
working on a laptop. The high sides of the sofa provide a shield against noisy
environments and create a small haven in which to get down to business.

Vitra, Alcove Highback Work

The SW 1 lounge, by Scott Wilson and Minimal for Coalesse,
is designed for both meeting rooms and living rooms.

A little lower than traditional conference room seating, the
SW 1 lounge sits in a more relaxed position but keeps the swivel base and mesh
back of a conventional task chair, making it easy to prop up a tablet on one’s
lap while keeping the conversation flowing in different directions.

Paired with an ottoman, the SW 1 is the perfect place the
read the newspaper from and check emails from the comfort of your own home.

September 4, 2012

Summer vacation is over, and it’s time to head back to the
office; which for a lucky few means it’s time for the grown-ups to do all the
fun stuff the kids got to do all summer.

Playground:

If part of your job description is to get in touch with your
inner child, you might work in the development department at LEGO. Designed by
Rosan Bosch and Rune Fjord, the space is more of a playground than an office,
including a slide from the top to the bottom floor and a plethora of toys to
play with.

Space camp:

For those more likely to have gone to space camp as
children, the Google engineering headquarters in London has a techy space-craft
feel in greys and bright blues and oranges. The cool lighting and integrated
furniture give the impression of wondering the halls of the Death Star.

Building a fort:

To counteract rainy-day boredom, there is always the option
to build a fort. Although blankets and the backs of chairs are traditionally
used as building materials, a large scale office version requires a cardboard
structure, like this tessellated cave by Liam Hopkins of Lazarian. Recycled
cardboard is pulped and reconstituted into hollow triangular blocks which fit
together to create the shelter’s organic shape.

Secret club-house:

The faceted red object in the middle of an office in
Shanghai has the mystique and draw of a secret club house. Its size indicates
that only a small number of people are able to fit inside, and its unusual
shape heightens one’s natural curiosity. A fortress within an office, it is a
perfect place to hold secret meetings and spy on others through the small
windows.

DZINE

Elegance. Simplicity. Functionality. DZINE represents a philosophy of design that is truly contemporary – one that encompasses not what is merely new, but what is essential and timeless.

A furniture showroom dedicated to the best of European design, DZINE occupies an airy 15,000 sq. ft. in the San Francisco design district. Whitewashed walls and bare concrete floors create a neutral backdrop. The effect is minimal, yet inviting. It is a space that places emphasis on the line, proportion and detail of the furniture itself, reflecting the respect for the integrity of each design and its creator.